RELIGIONS OF TIBET IN PRACTICE

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Editor

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PRINCETON RE ADINGS IN RELIGIONS

P R I N C E T O N U NIVER SITY PRESS

PRINCE! O N , NEW JERSEY 2 2

From the Autobiography of a Visionary

Janet Gyatso

Literary theorists have maintained that autobiography is a genre that is largely exclusive to the modern West, but Tibetan literature provides evidence to the contrary. A large number of autobiographies have been written by Tibetans, mostly religious figures, with no known influence from the West. N o r are there significant analogues of this genre in Indian or Chinese literary traditions. Tibetan religious autobiographies were written as early as the eleventh century but have been produced in significant quantity since the sixteenth century, and in great numbers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Such texts are written in a variety of contexts, and with a variety of intentions. Most Tibetan Buddhist au- tobiographers state that an account of their personal experiences might be instruc- tive to their disciples. They also write about their life experiences in order to demonstrate their own spiritual progress, to contextualize and cast legitimating light on their other writings, and to attract students and patrons. There are various subgenres of Tibetan autobiography, and it is not uncommon for a single author to write several accounts of his or her life from the different perspectives these subgenres represent. The author represented here, Jigme Lingpa ('Jigs med gling pa, 1730-1798), wrote several autobiographical works, including two "secret autobiographies," a subgenre that focuses primarily upon meditative experiences, visions, and realizations. In contrast, the selections trans- lated below, from Jigme Lingpa's 455-page "outer autobiography," are part of the narrative of his publicly observable deeds—such as childhood events, education, travels, and so forth—although as w i l l be seen, the outer account can reflect on inner thoughts and feelings as well. Jigme Lingpa was a well-known teacher and revealer of "treasure texts" (gter wa) in the Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He stayed in retreat from the ages of twenty-eight to thirty-three. During this retreat he is believed to have had several significant visions, which he later committed to writing, entitled "The Heart Sphere of the Great Expanse" (Klong chen snying thig). He established a retreat center in central Tibet close to the Yarlung valley where the tombs of the 370 JANET GYATSO

ancient Tibetan kings are located, and he attracted a significant and influential following. His "Heart Sphere" writings remain the most widely practiced medi- tations and liturgies among adherents of the Great Perfection tradition of the Nyingma. He is the author of a nine-volume "Collected Works," which includes an important study of the O l d Canon of Tantras, "The Heart Sphere" cycle, and several original works on early Tibetan history and architectural sites, in addition to the outer autobiography excerpted here. Autobiographies and biographies of all sorts are extremely popular reading material in Tibet, and an outer autobiography such as Jigme Lingpa's is well known to both lay and monastic readers. Although not the most carefully crafted of his works, it is typical of his subtle and often complex style and is rich in anecdotes and wry humor concerning especially his later life as a sought-after teacher and tantric master. It reproduces much of his correspondence, as well as some of the poems and songs for which he was admired. The song contained in the first selection translated below has achieved fame on its own for its suggestive tantric nuances; it has since been excerpted in a widely used as part of the liturgy of a communal feast (ganacakra) that takes place at the conclusion of a tantric initiation; it is often sung in Nyingma rituals with a haunting melody. Both of the selections presented here are of primary interest for the insight they give into the sort of relationship that obtained in Buddhist Tibet between a vi- sionary such as Jigme Lingpa and powerful lay political figures. Such figures would request Buddhist teachings from a master and in return would offer vital economic and political support for the master's projects and community of fol- lowers. Autobiographies are especially useful in shedding light on some of the more subtle and complex aspects of such a relationship—for example, the private doubts and cynical attitude we see Jigme Lingpa harboring in both of the following selections concerning these figures' affluent life-styles and the unlikelihood of their developing genuine religious insights—which would not be evident in other sorts of writings and documents. The first selection concerns Jigme Lingpa's initial meeting with a member of the powerful Yuthok (G.yu thok) aristocratic family, who was an important gov- ernment official. After granting a few perfunctory ritual blessings and assessing Yuthok's attitude toward religion and ability to develop the faith (or "pure vision") necessary for tantric Buddhist practice, Jigme Lingpa sings a symbolic song that transforms their encounter into a charged moment of bonding between a tantric master and his circle of students. The song merges classical Indie poetic imagery with a distinctively Tibetan longing for warmer climes and constructs an allegory of a special moment of close feelings. The "peacock from eastern India," a stock phrase in Tibetan popular lyrical tradition, would be Yuthok himself. In Tibet the peacock's tail feathers were often worn ornamentally on hats as insignia of official rank, serving as an emblem of beauty, dignity, and noblesse. The reference to the rainbow colored circular design in the peacock's plumage, a conventional symbol for the primordial light-sphere (thig le) of Great Perfection meditation, is a direct reference to Yuthok's interest in such practices. The "cuckoo from the leafy for- ests" is another popular figure in Tibetan lyrics. The bird migrates to central Tibet T HE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A VISIONARY 371 during the springtime, and its sweet cooing voice is believed to enhance fertility and bring about rain. Here the cuckoo would appear to be Jigme Lingpa himself, the singer of poetry, and the transmitter of the fertile dharma and its "ripening and liberating nectars." Effecting a separation between narrator and author not uncommon in this sort of poetic song, the poet's voice reflects the perspective of his listeners, that is, the gathered disciples, or "vajra brothers," and their devotion to the lama who in this case is the author, Jigme Lingpa himself. The scene is a celebration of these vajra brothers' receipt of a tantric initiation in which symbolic liquids ("liberating nectars") are tasted, and the narrator has a vision of a deity and a lama (whose identities are not specified). The song culminates with a request that the lama bestow upon the disciples an esoteric teaching from the Great Perfection tradition ("the clear light vehicle," attributed to the dakinis, the female buddha/angel/trickster deities) concerning the achievement of a body of pure "rainbow" light. The second selection recounts Jigme Lingpa's reflections on another meeting with powerful political figures, the king and queen of the eastern Tibetan Khampa principality of Derge (Sde dge). This royal couple had been in correspondence with him for several years, influenced by reports of his virtues from fellow coun- trymen who had already journeyed to meet him in central Tibet. The couple from eastern Tibet is now on a pilgrimage to central Tibet, reminding us of a similar pilgrimage described elsewhere in this anthology. (See the description of the p i l - grimage by Do Khyentse's parents in chapter 3). Jigme Lingpa, aware of the serious burden entailed in hosting such an entourage, takes pains to deflect them away from his own humble retreat center and arranges for their meeting to occur instead at the ancient monastery of Samye (Bsam yas). Even here their demands exceed the resources of the area, and we see Jigme Lingpa objecting strenuously, both on behalf of the local people and in hopes of enlightening the king, in the con- ventional sense, about the merits of being considerate toward subjects and hosts in foreign lands. Jigme Lingpa gives a number of major teachings to the couple, including the "eight transmissions," which covers the principal eight tantric deities of the Nyingma, and the "heap of instructions," which concerns the practices of the Great Perfection tradition. He establishes a particularly close relationship with the queen; soon after this incident the king dies, but his queen and her son remain two of Jigme's principal patrons throughout his life. In addition to giving him many other sorts of support, she sponsors and oversees the publication of his Collected Works" toward the end of his life. Since this collection includes the outer autobiography from which the following passages are translated, Jigme Ling- Pa's candor in the final lines of the second selection, indicating that he rushed through his teachings to the king and queen so that their party would leave quickly, and coming close to comparing them to barbarians, is noteworthy.

The translation below is excerpted from Yul Iho rgyud du byung ba'i rdzogs chen pa rang byung rdo rje mkhyen brtse'i od zer gyi mam par thar pa legs byas yongs 'du'i sn ye ma, in The Collected Works of 'Jigs-med-glin-pa Ran-byun-rdo-rje Mkhyen-brtse'i- 372 JANET GYATS

•od -zer (J 730—1798), reproduced from a set of prints from the Sde dge Dgon chen blocks (Gangtok, Sikkim: Pema Thinley for Ven. Dodrup Chen Rinpoche, 1985) 9:1-502. Selection 1 is found on pp. 210-11; selection 2 is found on pp. 350J 62.

Further Reading

For more on the life of Jigme Lingpa, see Steven D. Goodman, "Rig-'dzin 'jigs- med gling-pa and the kLong-Chen sNying-Thig," in Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation, ed. Steven D. Goodman and Ronald M. Davidson (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1992); and especially Janet Gyatso, Apparitions oj the Self. The Autobiogra- phies of a Tibetan Visionary (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997). To learn more about Tibetan religious and political songs, see Melvyn Goldstein, "Lhas Street Songs: Political and Social Satire in Traditional Tibet," Tibet Journal 7, 1 & 2: 56-57; also Per K. Sorenson, Divinity Secularized: An Inquiry into the Nature and Form of the Songs Ascribed to the Sixth Dalai Lama (Wien: Arbeitskreis fur Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universitat Wien, 1990).

During that year, when the Lord of Archery Pawo Wangjuk (Dpa' bo'i dbang phyug, "Powerful Hero") of the Yuthok family was at the hot springs, he came here on a side trip. He arrived with about fifty assistant archers, rivaling [in ostentatiousness] a fourfold army [of infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chari- ots]. In general, it's hard for anyone to tell what is in the mind of another. But he did seem to be someone who—for a householder—had managed to develop the pure vision to regard the three precious jewels with the highest respect. He said he needed a protection ritual and a blessing, and so I performed them He had a great liking for poetic songs and insisted I do one, and so I sang this, with the others singing backup:

On the wishing-tree That is the coming together of karma and prayers, There has arrived A young peacock from eastern India.

The peacock's parasol-wheel has turned Toward the direction of the holy dharma, And we young ones Shall take the path to freedom.

C o m i n g i n On Queen Spring of Merit's chariot T H E A U T O B I O G R A P H Y O F A V I S I O N A R Y 373

Is a cuckoo

From the leafy forests of southern Mon [Bhutan].

H i s tune is sweeter Than the flute of the celestial maidens on high. It is the auspicious indication Of three months of summer warmth. We vajra brothers and friends here gathered, Share c o m m o n karma and prayers, And have arrived inside the teaching circle Where the lama is sitting.

A song sung W i t h feelings of happiness, Which celebrates the drinking Of the ripening and liberating nectars, Has a special meaning.

In the middle of the line Where we were sitting In great unmoving bliss, I saw, Without meditating on them, The faces of the deity and the lama.

And I request, By way of the clear light vehicle Of the mother dakinis' heart-sphere teachings, The power-means to accomplish A dharmakaya rainbow body.

W h e n he was about to go, he said he w o u l d take the four initiations. He touched his forehead to mine, tears falling from his eyes. If such a way of perceiving things were to dawn on my disciples, it wou ld help them greatly in their cultivation of experience and realization! A m o n g the set of offerings he gave me was a large bag of butter. I offered this in Lhasa, and it became my first connection with performing ceremonies there.

During that year the k i n g of Derge planned to come to Central Tibet. I feared that if he came to my o w n place it w o u l d make difficulties for the peasants. So I sent a message with the lamas from Kham who were returning [to Derge]. W h e n you meet some of the [king's] retainers w h o are close to h i m , please give them the message that I w i l l definitely be going to Samye Monastery in We ninth month in order to consecrate a stupa, so it wo uld be good for us to get together there," I urged them. In due course, representatives of the king 374 JANET GYATSO reached me and gave me his reply that there could be no better place to me than Samye. Soon after, the k i n g arrived, and we met at Samye fort. I had to give him many empowerments, transmissions, and permission rites, which I d i d in the Ivory Chapel, the small room on the middle storey. Then he wanted forty-five corvee horses in order to go up to the Chimpu Hermitage. Where were the peasants to get them from? They w o u l d be ruined. So that the king's seed of merit might actually grow and bear fruit, I sent this message to h i m :

You, man of power, with the traits of a bodhisattva! Sentient beings are controlled by karma. This is an extremely degenerate period, Especially in this L a n d of Snows. Last year there was a bad harvest, famine, A n d a variety of plagues. This year there has been extreme misery Due to war and taxes. This area in particular is actually paradise itself, But the place is small, A n d the people are poor in necessities. Every day they have to move to a different place And the villages are becoming empty. Perceiving this bad era, Your compassion and sadness should increase.

Y o u see the local sacred mountain w i t h your eyes, But when it is time to go there, A n d y o u climb the long trail of stone stairs, The distance becomes even longer.

Pay a wage of three silver zho for each horse A n d breathe a big breath of life into this place, please!

And thus it came to pass that ten corvee horses would do. The next day while giving the empowerment for the eight transmissions, I told him how pleased I was that he had reduced the number of corvee hors to a smaller amount. A n d since he might also go to Yarlung, the ancient site of the ancestors and other [pilgrimage spots], I explained to h i m the source of black so as to fully ripen his white karma, because both he, the master, and his servants were very powerful. He promised to heed me. The queen was very intelligent, w i t h good propensities, and she compre hended the symbols of the "heap of instructions" in three days. She said that since it is difficult to meet one's guru often, they should linger for a while Samye. But their staff people were making problems and impositions, so endeavored to complete the empowerments and the various teachings quick! in no more than six days. [The king] said that we should make prayers togeth THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A VISIONARY 375 in the presence of the L o r d [Buddha statue] and urged me to set up the "of- ferings in thousands" precisely, which I did. In general, even though one's mind is moistened with a renunciatory atti- tude, if one doesn't have any thought of respecting the local rules and so forth, the "truth of reality" w i l l not [be obtained] through manipulations of hope and fear. But anyway they were not the same as those from other kingdoms that are filled with barbarians and miscreants.